Coin-controlled machine.



ma. 629,334. Patented my 25, m99.

c. A. BREWER.

COIN CUNTHOLLED MACHINE.

(Appliucion median. 1e, 1899.)

pillo Modal.)

WITN fasses: a

Tn: u'unms Pneus co. imo-uno, wAsmNmoN, n, c.

,Y a citizen of theUnited'Statea V resid ing inV C hi, cago, inthecounpy atomi; andismreaqfini;

Y chine. V AsV a still further precaution I pro# adapted to draw aspurious piece of metal into bythe magnetbearrested by the latter and.machine containingmy invention.

'To azz man?, a mayeoaejem.-

',form a supportover which'the geruime-coin'I the lower side of `therace aswill permit -a l lspringgmay be opened to release it, andit thenfalls into the receptacle below Without coin, preferablybeyond thespring and side the machine, so that should a spnrionspiece ,neakunnnen-I, .CHARLES-:asuma1 nois, have invented a new and usef ulInipro'vef str notion ,c zhandise,` and'more especially to ltheconstrucinsertedinitgf 'y f V'machine th'elchute is Ki-n-v jln; myvimproved et'er,v-to `fall throughfbefore it reachesiLheoplongitudinally'ofV the chute andA adapted to will roll, but arrangedat such a distancefronr coin thinner than thelgenuine to enter betweenit and the'side of the race. Y lf ac'oin should lodge between the springandthe side of the race,` 1 provide means whereby the havingenteredtheioperating part of the mavide an open space vlateral to .the Vpathofthe opening above mentioned, and' a vmagnet saidspaceand'thuspreventit from operating of athickness and diametercorrespondingto the genuine coin succeed i n passing the spring andopenside it willif of a metalattracted drawn into saidspaceJi-oin whichit fallsinoperative'into the c oin-receptacle.y These and other featuresof. myginvention are fully ex# plained,belowand are alsoA illustrated inthe accompanying drawings,in` which; i I

Figure l is agfront view ofthe partsof thek Fig- 2 iS.

' Bewaar;@Financeemmer naar message@ @asa keine, 139er,genaue702,244;.rumena.)

4, L15, f6, Tandil? are, sectional iviews'on .the'lires 4 4. 15 6,267,Aand 77; resp@tivelxzA of Fig; '2- Insaid drawings, A represents-'thepartei theframeforexterior etthe vending-.machine *towhich iny''improveinentis attached,lrand B is the 'chute-opening therein'.r

.Cisj a platel having a Harige/C', 4w hereby it may-befattachedto thevpart A and by which itjfis, supportedinanV inclined position, such: v"fas,y that shovvnfat Figul; Thisfplate prefer- "ablyiorrnstheframeandsupport-ofthe chute andthe .meehanis'rnfor discharging th eineray "Chantierinmhedelwerychute fir-passage.. j Y '.-D,{iS aCovering-'plate secured to the' upper g sideof the plate C andforniing'with th'e.]at `ter the'opposite'sides of thechute. Y In plate?C nearthe mouth of the chuteis-an opening. `E,inclined downward tocorrespondWithfthe `chute and ofsuftioient height tepel-mit a icftitiousy coin of Vlessthan the proper .liarneterv The coin has atendency to fall throughfit. to dothis because aof the lateralinclination vofthe chute, as'will be understood from Figs.

ljandxl, and any coin leaving the chute at this pe'ningris ofcourserejected, as it fails to reach the delivery mechanism.:

4The bot-tomv of the chuteis formed-by a spring l?, attached at itsupper end to plate Gand arranged Withits edge uppermost and controlledat its lowerend by the'whe'el G of fthe delivery 1nechanisn1,ashereinafter stated. The spring is arranged with avertical space 'betweenitand plate C, such space beingtoov narrowto admit the genuinecoi'nfbutwide 'enough to take in a coin only slightly less than theproperthickness. It" the coinenters this s space at all, it'vvill fail toreach the poin twhere itA can assist in operating the deliverymechanisin,fbecause iveryfthiuit drops entirely 'through thespaceinto-the receptacle'below 'andifonly vslightly thinnerthanthefgenuine j coin it will lodge in the space and bereleased and'dropped when the wheel G is turned, the

wheel lhaving a recessG, inwhich fthe end of 'spring Frno'rmally' rests,but whichl is im clined at one side, so that any movement given tothewh'eel will cause said end to ride onthe incline, and thus'move thespring away from IOO plateC, thereby widening said vvertical space.

`and allowing thecoiny to fallthrough.v

Inaddtion to the means above described for rejecting inferior andspurious coin and metal pieces I also employ a magnet H; but itsoperation Will be better understood as describedlater on.

supposing the coin inserted in the machine to be genuine, it rolls downthe chute, past the opening E, and over the spring F and into a spaceformed between the plates G G2, attached to the side of the wheel G, andis arrested thereby in a position-wherein its crown projects beyond theperiphery of the wheel. This will be understood from Fig. 3. The rim ofthe Wheel is cut away for part of its circumference, leaving ashoulder-at G3 with an abrupt face towardthe coin. rlhe wheel is pivotedat G4 and is operated by the handplfunger G5, having rack-teeth G6,meshing with the pinion G7, fast with the wheel. The plunger is intendedto be operated by the person patronizing the machine and to act as themedium through which he secures the delivery of the article bought, thedischarging device being attached to or operated from this plunger.Ihave shown a device GS attached tothe inner end of the plunger andadapted to'en'gage and push the bottom package from under a pile ofpackages-such, for instance, as the packages in which chewing-gum iscustomarily sold. I do not illustrate either the packages or theirholder or the chute into which they fall when discharged by the deviceGB; but those features are Well understood by makers of vending-machinesand may be greatly varied in construction, as may also the-dischargingdevice. W'ith the coin thus lying between the plates G and G2 it will beseen that if the plunger is pushed in a-nd the Wheel turned the roundedtop or crown of the coin will soon encounter the pawl G9, attached toplate C and depressedby a spring G10, and lift said pawl, so that theylatter, instead of arresting the Wheel, as it would do it' not thuslifted, will pass over the shoulder G3 without veng-agement, and thusallow the wheel to confrom thewheel by gravity, and at its concluf sionthe plunger is returned by lthe spring G11, and in so doing the wheel ismoved back to its starting position, which is that shown at K If aspurious instead of a genuine 'coin is inserted and successfully passesthe opening E and spring F, I cause its rejection through the medium ofthe magnet H, if the coin is of a metal susceptible to the magnet. Themagnet is preferably supported from the plunger in some suitable Way,with its points normally over the openings D in plate D-, such openingsbeing nearly opposite the point at which the coin enters between theplates G' and G2. A vacant space M exists between the plate D and thewheel large enough to receive the coin, andthe coin is moved laterallyinto this space by the magnet, and thereby it is freed from the plates Gand G2 and prevented from acting on the pawl. It is now allowed to fallinto the receptacle below without having caused any movement of thedelivery mechanism, being released from the magnet by the shoulder G12,formed in plate D andlocated in the plane through which any coin heldunder the attraction of the magnett will be carried by thelatter, orbeing released by reason of the fact that the magnet soon moves beyondthe openings D', so that its power over the coin is destroyed.

The plunger is under my construction permitted a partial but idle strokeWhenever the coin inserted is spurious and is rejected in any ofthe waysdescribed, and', indeed', it may be thus operated at any time withoutthe insertion of any coin whatever or substitute therefor; but the fullstroke of ther plunger is necessary to secure the delivery of thearticle sold, and that can only be obtained by the use of a genuine coinora substitute which is not intercepted by any of the' detecting meansemployed in the machine.

While I have shown the invention as applied to a vending-machine, itwill be understood that some of its featuresare Well adapted to' use inother descriptions of coin-coutrolled machines.

The space on the side of thewheel into which the coin falls from thechute may -of 1 course be formed in different ways from that shown, itbeing only necessary that some sort of a pocket or recess beformed in orattached to the wheelv which will affordlodginent tothe coin and allowitto be displaced by the magnet.

It will be noticed that the plungeris adapted todischarge the articlesold at about the same instantthe coin falls by its gravity from thewheel This result is insured by the'circular guard O, which surroundsthe wheel and confines the coin until the latter has moved to the point,indicated by the dotted line, Fig. 3, and isv of great value inpreventing the operating of the plunger more than once with a singlecoin.

lAs a preventive of fraud I have applied a projection P to the plate D'just above the pawl, which stands across the slot andccmpels any wireinserted inv the slot for the purpose of raising the pawl to pass underthe projection. Owing to the presence of this projection, therefore, theshoulder on the-wheel will necessarily encounter the wire when theplunger is pushed in and either cutit off or stop the wheel. If anattempt is made to rob the machine by attaching a thread or twine to thecoin, as soon as the coin has passed the guard O it will drop from thewheel' and hang vertically down by the thread, and as the wheelisincl-ined it wi-ll be impossible to draw it back again into the wheel.It will be no- ICO lIO

f of the raily F," so Vthat such coins as are small enough to ytipont atthe opening E are'free track'throughfthe opening. f l1 'I IS chute'whereof is providediwithV af longitudinal opening'inits bottomadapted-torintercept coin yofjless than theKA propenvthickness, one- "side ofsaid o"peiling.being;movable'.Sofasllojl enlarge thexopeninganddischarge a'ny coin .lodging thereimand said movable sidebeing` openedbythe patronwhen he'foperates the "delivery apparatus o f themachine,subst-an?` l jfromthe magnet as the jlatterieaves its no1-` to de sowithoutresistance.v It the coin. were confinedy at its4 bottoml upon'botl`1"s'ides,v there ...might be some @resistance to its'1eavn g theIclaim- Al. The coin-controlled' machine, the; cointially 'as'speciedLivending-:machine cfa coinfchute'havi'ng a lon'- fis'discharged causingthe delivery of thearticle sold, .one

whereby anycoinlodging in said opening specified. 3. The

'f chute whereof is provided with a'vertical opening in its bottomadapted to intercept coin of less than proper thickness, one Yside of-vsaid opening being formed by a spring-rail' arranged longitudinally ofythe chute and adaptedV to open at its'lower end to release any coin4lodging in theopening, substantially as specified. f

4, The coin-chute provided with a springv rail forming the bottom of thechute and withv an yopening at'the side ofthe rail" for interceptingthin coins,-in combination with means' other than the ooinitself forbending said rail to effect'the discharge of any coin lodging inSaidopening, substantially as specified. f

5.V 'lhe coin-chute provided with a Vspring set edgewise in 'the bottomvof the chuteand forminga Support for the coin, and means for deflectingthe lower .end of said spring to permit the discharge of any coin whichmay'lodgev sub-V between it landthe wall of the chute, stantiailyasspecified..

6. The coin-chute provided with a longitm dinal opening for thedischarge of coin of inferior thickness, one side of' said opening beingformedr by a longitudinally-arranged spring adapted Ato openat its lowerend to dis. charge the intercepted'coin, substantially as specified.

- 7; The cpiniehute previded with a mgm;-

dinal openingl for thedscharge of coin of inbeing formed by alongitu'dinallynrranged y"being.'formed byfa longitudinally-arranged`spring5.in combination with-'a'wheel'Gadaptyetl-tofbend said spring andthus-.to widen said opening?'atfeachoperationof the delivery@ l v Y y{mechanism} Vwhereby the lodging of inferiory 'tiallyfasispecifiedrg12.4Th'e combination -in a coin controlled bythepatrom substantially aslas specified.V

coin-controlled machine, Vthe coin-y -fe'r'ior thickness, one y'sideofsaid opening spring,and said spring being set edgewise thickness-willpass said open-ing in combinaingsaid `spring,` so 'asl to Vdischarge anycoin ferior, thickness',uonev side ofsaid yopening coin .inv the.opening .is prevented, substan-F anda stationary plate actingtofstripthe coin mallposition, substantially as Specie,

operated by the patron'and located at the bot- :torn ofy the chuteandalso having a coin-recess onits side faceadapted to arrestthecoin1v1.. The coin- @strolled fui chine rwherein are combineda coinfchu te,an articl'e-discharging mechanismoperated by the purchaser and v nembodying an inclined'wheel having an open y7o and serving as a. railover which coinof proper.y

1 tion'witli lmeans otherthanfthecoinffor open'f 1 75.* Y Icoin-chutefprovided Withialongitu# y y f dinal .opening forthe'discharge of coin of in- 9gi'lfhecombinationwith the lwheel having 1an open-.sided coin-recess, of a movable mag;y

het normally arranged opposite said recess,

-f-10.` ''lhe coin -controlled'machinewherein` f A afrecom'bined acoin-chute, an inclined wheel'v `.and a magnet positioned to acton thecoin,v while in "the' recess andtogdraw itsidewisetherefrom, -if of.'inferiormetal; substantially f coin-recess on its sideiz'ace,y and avmagnet po-v sitioned to' act on. the coin while inthe recess andto drawit'sidewise therefrom if of infef rior metal, substantiallyl asspecified.

' l2. The coin-controlled machine wherein are combined a coin-chute, awheel having a coin-recess connecting with the chute. and a shoulder orprojection, a pawl4 positioned nor-r mally to engage said shoulder andadapted to be lifted by the coin inv said recess',V a plungerv gearedtothe wheel and operated by the purchaser, and a magnet drawingAinferior-coin.Y

are combineda coin-chute', a'wheel having a 'from thev recess; andpreventing them from lifting .the paWL-substantially as specified.

13..'The coin-controlled `machine wherein V:zo

coin-recess connecting with the'chnte, and a? f shoulder or projection,'a pawl positionednor-Iv mally to Vengage said shoulderl and adapted tobe lifted by the coin insaid recess, a plunger 'geared to. the wheel andoperatedv by the purchaser, and a'magnet mounted upon the plungerfandkserving vto'draw inferior coin from therecessfand prevent themfromlifting the L pawl; substantially as specied.

14j. The coincontrolled ymachine whereinA are combined a coin-chute, awheel having a coin recess connecting with thechute and open upon onesidejand" also. having a proroo V @i @assai jection engaged by a pawland serving to lock the Wheel' againstv operative rotation, said pawlbeing lifted above the projection by the coin-When' in the recess, asliding` rack geared tothe Wheel, anda magnet drawing inferior coin fromtherecess, and preventing them from lifting the pawl, substantially asspecied.

15. The combination in a coin-controlled machine, of the chute,controlling thedelivery'inechanism, and the wheel having a coinholdingrecess open at one side and receiving the coin from the chute, and amagnet draw` ing the coin out 'of the recess through the openl side,substantially as specified.

16. The combination with the article-discharging device and a Wheelreceiving the coin from the coin-chute, of a plunger operating both saiddevice and said wheel, and a guard O around the wheel acting to retainthe coin so that both coin and article maybe discharged simultaneously,substantially as specified.l

' 17. The combination of a coin-chute having,r a movable bottom railbetween which and the side of the chute is' an opening for the dischargeof coin of an inferior thickness, an article-discharging device operableby the purchaser, and means whereby said discharging device each time itis actuated operates said movable portion of the chute and thus opensthe latter for the discharge of any coin or substitutes for coin whichmay lodge therein, substantially as specified.

' CHARLES A. BREWER.

Vitnesses:

EDW. S. EvARTs, H. M. MUNDAY.

